If San Francisco Supervisor Katy Tang has her way, the city of San Francisco will become the third city in the United States to ban the sale of fur garments and objects within the city limits. Ms. Tang has proposed the ban, and the measure will come before the Board of Supervisors on January 24. Berkeley, California and North Hollywood, California already have the fur ban on the law books.

So far, the proposed law seems to be popular with many San Francisco residents. As of the evening of January 23, an online petition that was created to show support for the fur ban had close to 60,000 signatures.

Most of the city's department stores that do sell fur clothing have not yet taken a position on the proposed ban. Estimates show that the sale of fur items generates about one million dollars of revenue for city merchants.

While individual retailers haven't had much to say about the proposed law, members of the Small Business Commission are expressing their opposition. One member of the commission suggested that an exemption be made in the law that furs would be allowed from animals that were killed for meat.

The fur industry has seen a number of laws around the world passed against it over the last few years. In Europe, the United Kingdom and Austria now ban fur farming in its entirety. Several of the world's top clothing manufactures have eliminated the use of all fur in the their clothing lines including Calvin Klein and Gucci.

Environmentalists and those in the animal rights movement believe that if the fur ban is passed in San Francisco, it will lead to similar legislation being enacted in other areas of California and in other states. They see it as a first step in advancing animal welfare legislation around the globe.